The Covid blues . . .

I’m not going to lie; I’m so freaking tired of events being canceled. Everything that my hubby and I have gotten tickets to and have looked forward to has been canceled; all of his band gigs have been canceled or postponed to a later date. We keep setting our sights on the next thing to look forward to, and then it just vanishes.

It’s my pity party and I’ll cry if I want to. Please do not lecture me about how selfish this sounds because I have news for you: I KNOW. Back in March, when my husband and I returned from a band gig in Georgia, the Covid thing was just starting to get serious; my school ended up going online the week that I returned. I remember thinking at the time that we’d have a few months of this and then be back to normal.

No such luck.

I miss live music. I miss seeing my friends in the music industry. I miss watching my husband do what he loves to do. I miss normalcy.

Then again, at this point, I don’t even know what the benchmark is for “normal.”

In spite of all the upheaval – both local and nationally – I have tried to not only keep busy with school tasks, but I have focused on enjoying the antique jaunts that my husband and I are able to make. Accidentally, we stumbled upon a new area of collecting when we were in the local antique store just after Christmas and we spotted a super cool panther TV lamp – in white! I’ve seen them in black before, but this one was a rare beauty.

The downside is that it does not work, but we are getting it repaired ASAP. It just looks cool, and the eyes light up. That started us on sort of a panther binge, for just as we spotted that one, we saw a sort of sibling to it:

He is a planter rather than a light, but once again, he just looks cool. The hubs and I started thinking about how awesome it would look to have an entire shelf of these things in different colors. Hi, eBay. Thanks for there in our time of need:

He works, and he’s beautiful.

There’s a chartreuse color out there as well, and I’m keeping my eye out for a deal on that one. After we obtain that color, I think we’ll be done with our panther collection.

However, I might not be done with my TV light collection. When we were shopping and saw the panther, we also saw this immaculate specimen:

This thing doesn’t even look like it’s been used. The best part is that when I was doing the research for this lamp, I could not find another exactly like it. The company, Bilt-Rite, (evidently from Chicago, according to the stamp) apparently made a similar model that contained a tiny aquarium on one side (poor fish!) and a planter as well, along with the light part and patterned overlay. After scouring eBay , Etsy, and the internet in general, I could not find another one just like this. I was drawn toward its classic MCM style, and had the shop owner not put it on hold for me, I would have missed out on it. The day I went to go pay for it and pick it up, she told me that another MCM fan was in and really, REALLY wanted the lamp. Thank god for small town antique store owners who operate on the honor system.

In the last few months, I have had a rare stroke of tablecloth luck. I haven’t cleaned any of these yet (waiting for summer when I can lay them in the sun) and they are certainly not ironed yet. AlthoughI’ve run across some doozies that were WAY overpriced (which I ignored), most of the ones I got were fairly priced and too good to pass up.

Exhibit A:

I will admit that this cloth was on the higher end of what I’m usually willing to spend. However, I know that anything that has such a classic 50’s style like this is very collectible and very worth it.

MCM Christmas cloths are super collectible, and this one was a freaking steal – something like $8. Yeah, I’ll take it!
This cloth was decently priced and was even signed (see below). Google/eBay/Etsy searches reveal that this tablecloth commands a decent price in resale.
The color doesn’t quite come through on this pic because the yellow is a very faint color, but I’m a sucker for daisies and sunny colors. This fits the bill!
This bright-colored Wilendur had a raggedy tag on it (below), but again, I loved the cheerful colors in it.
This is my personal favorite. I love simple, flowered prints. No tag on this one, but I absolutely love it.
I have a variety of simple damask tablecloths, but red matches my kitchen, it fits my table perfectly, and it was in great shape.
Not my usual style, but it’s red, has a nice MCM vibe to it, and once again, it was in great shape.
This cloth had “my green” in it – that lovely jadeite shade, and it looked to be fairly old. It was in wonderful shape despite a little fading.
No tag, but I liked the red color and the simple, flowered pattern.
Small square tablecloth with some fading, but I liked the colors.
My apologies for the horrible picture. This is a California Hand Prints find in perfect condition. Any time I can find a cloth with a tag on it (see below), I am excited. The picture does not do this cloth justice. It is not faded at all, despite what it looks like.

My last find might turn into its own quest. I picked up this glass for about $2.00 from an antique store, and I loved the funky birds that were on it. Although I missed the signature on it initially, a vintage-finds FB group that I am part of helped me identify this as a Dyball glass. It seems virtually impossible to find a full set of these; the one listing I found for the full bar set was astronomical, so if that is how these things are usually priced, I’m going to count myself lucky that I found one for next to nothing.

I still have to photograph and post the fantastic luggage set I found, and I promise to do that soon. That one deserves its own post!

Until next time . . . keep the faith that all this craziness will end soon.

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